Asian Style Baked Tofu

February 7, 2011

Cooking with tofu is easy, convenient, nutritious, and affordable. Adding lean proteins like tofu into one’s diet is great for appetite control and weight loss and management. I honed my tofu-baking skills while working on this recipe. It really is delicious – even meat-lovers will agree!

Those who are new to cooking with tofu often wind up with a watery, bland mess. Tofu must be thoroughly pressed and drained. Remove the tofu from its package over the sink; a lot of water will pour out of the container. Many recipes recommend that you drain tofu for 30 minutes. I find that tofu soaks its marinade and cooks to a tougher quality the better it is drained – overnight works very well.

After many wasted paper towels, one creative patient of mine taught me a great way to remove the excess water. Do you have a George Foreman grill or panini press? In other words, a machine that has a top and bottom, raised ridges, and rests on a decline. If you take your tofu, place it on the “grill,” close the top, and put some heavy books or a cast iron skillet on top, you can thoroughly drain your tofu. Just make sure you have a big enough basin to catch the water so you don’t walk into a kitchen with puddles.

Once the tofu is ready, you can apply this extremely easy to make marinade that has a wonderful combination of Tamari, toasted sesame oil, garlic, onion, fresh ginger, and rice wine and vinegar. All of these ingredients can be found at Whole Foods, Asian markets, and many chain grocery stores. If you don’t have every single ingredient, that is okay!

I bake this dish a bit longer than the recipe calls for as increased baking time leads to browned edges that are chewy. Make sure to cook until all of the liquid is absorbed. The results are not the texture of a steak, but much meatier than your typical slippery tofu. I personally like cutting the tofu into one-inch cubes and usually triple the recipe. Leftovers are even better!

In terms of Chinese Medicine, this dish is warm and moving in nature which makes it suitable for cold and stagnant patterns. Do you have a creative way to press your tofu? Do you have a favorite tofu marinade? Please share!